Vendor Landscape: Canadian Co-location/Managed Services

Sort through disguised differentiation in the market to get back to an apples-to-apples comparison.

More Details

Enable javascript and refresh the page to enjoy our Vendor Landscape Web Tool!

CenturyLink

PEER 1 Hosting

Bell Business Markets

RackForce

Primus Business Services

TELUS

CGI Canada

Data Centers Canada

What is a Value Score?

The Value Score indexes each vendor’s product offering and business strength relative to their price point. It does not indicate vendor ranking.

Vendors that score high offer more bang for the buck (e.g. features, usability, stability, etc.) than the average vendor, while the inverse is true for those that score lower.

Price-conscious enterprises may wish to give the Value Score more consideration than those who are more focused on specific vendor/product attributes.

Weight: You can adjust the weight to what is more important to you.

Progress Bars:
When both vendor and product weightings are equal to exactly 100%, your custom shortlist will be generated.

View our vendor methodology

Vendor

Product

Viability

Vendor is profitable, knowledgeable, and will be around for the long-term.

Strategy

Vendor is committed to the space and has a future product and portfolio roadmap.

Reach

Vendor offers global coverage and is able to sell and provide post-sales support.

Channel

Vendor channel strategy is appropriate and the channels themselves are strong.

Total

You are currently over the vendor limit, please adjust your weightings to equal exactly 100%.

Features

The solution provides basic and advanced feature/functionality.

Usability

The solutions dashboard and reporting tool are intuitive and easy to use.

Affordability

The five year TCO of the solution is economical.

Architecture

The delivery method of the solution aligns with what is expected within the space.

Total

You are currently over the product limit, please adjust your weightings to equal exactly 100%.

What matters more, the vendor score or the product score? As you weigh the importance, we will generate the vendor shortlist to match your needs.

Weight

Savvis (CenturyLink)

CenturyLink
Vendor: Product:

Q9 Networks

Q9
Vendor: Product:

PEER 1 Hosting

PEER 1 Hosting
Vendor: Product:

Bell

Bell Business Markets
Vendor: Product:

RackForce

RackForce
Vendor: Product:

Primus

Primus Business Services
Vendor: Product:

TELUS

TELUS
Vendor: Product:

CGI

CGI Canada
Vendor: Product:

Data Centers Canada

Data Centers Canada
Vendor: Product:

View Vendor Shortlist

What is a shortlist?
A shortlist is a personalized list of vendors based on the criteria above.

Your shortlist offers more information about vendor's strengths, weaknesses, price-points, etc, and ranks them according to your needs.

Already a member? Sign In

Download the Storyboard Overview

Your Challenge

The decision to co-locate all or part of the data center facility can be risky. Because the decision to build vs. buy is essentially one of cost, IT decision makers must put in the time and effort in requirements gathering, determining the needs of the business, and selecting a co-location vendor to ensure the engagement is successful.
Because the co-location/managed services market is highly commoditized, the trouble for organizations lies in differentiating vendors in order to choose the best fit for enterprise needs.
In addition, because the market is so commoditized in the services they provide, vendors will go to great lengths to differentiate themselves, creating a disguised differentiation where they do whatever they can to NOT look like another vendor. This makes it hard for organizations to get back to the apples-to-apples comparison, creating additional confusion.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

Most SMEs begin with a basic level of co-location services and evolve into managed services. What they really need from vendors in this space is a hybrid model where they can begin at basic co-location and move into managed services – the vendor should support them having a bit of both; however, many vendors in the co-location market space have cut out their basic level of service, and are only offering managed services as their entry level service.
Customers must be prepared to have educated conversations with vendors to ensure they are engaging with the right vendor and the right level of service for their business needs now and in the future.
There are three Tiers of vendors (based on size, geography, and market influence); the majority of mid-sized enterprises should concentrate on vendors that fall into the Tier 2 category. Generally speaking, there is really no difference in capacity or capability in the market – just size.

Impact and Result

Understand what’s new in the Canadian co-location/managed services market.
Evaluate Canadian co-location/managed services vendors and services for your enterprise needs.
Determine which services are most appropriate for particular use cases and scenarios.

Get to Action

Evaluate Canadian Co-location providers and available solutions
Understand the Canadian Co-location provider market, the players, and their products.
- Vendor Landscape Storyboard: Canadian Co-location/Managed Services
Identify the solutions that best fit enterprise needs
Develop a customized shortlist to speed solution selection.
- Canadian Co-location/Managed Services Vendor Shortlist Tool

Develop a Co-location Strategy

Successful data center co-location strategies are a function of cost and vendor selection.

Vendor Landscape: US Co-location/Managed Services

Learn how to navigate the super-sized US market.

Vendor Landscape: European Co-location/Managed Services

Rome wasn't built in a day. Take the time to evaluate the European market.

Get the Complete Storyboard

See how all the steps you need to take come together, with tools and advice to help with each task on your list.

BONUS: Get access to up to 5 additional free downloads

Download Now